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"Few children now have access to the open woodlands and grasslands frequented by barn owls, but they can all enjoy the magic of the bird thanks to this lovely introduction." — KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review)

A young girl and her grandfather look for a barn owl night after night. Will a distinctive heart-shaped face appear at the window? Michael Foreman’s lush, intimate paintings are a perfect companion to Nicola Davies’s lyrical text featuring intriguing facts about a rare bird indeed.Back matter includes further information about nest boxes and an index.

"Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress"
Is the world really falling apart? Is the ideal of progress obsolete? Cognitive scientist and public intellectual Steven Pinker urges us to step back from the gory headlines and prophecies of doom, and instead, follow the data: In seventy-five jaw-dropping graphs, Pinker shows that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise. Learn more

She helped Grandpa build a large wooden box, but when she asked him what it was for she had to wait. He got a ladder and put the box way up high in an old oak tree then he showed her some special things and talked to her about barn owls. He had seen one and this was hoping the barn owl would make it into a home. Perhaps there would even be babies!

He began to tell her all sorts of interesting facts about them and showed her a barn owl pellet. Inside there were some very odd things like fur and bones, but it was very interesting to learn new things. They kept a watch to see if the owl would climb into the box. They were going to have to be very patient because even though Grandpa knew there were owls nearby you could never tell what a wild animal will do.

Along with this lovely narrative, there is factual information about the barn owl on the opposite page such as "Under their feathers, owls are slim. Their bones are hollow, which keeps their bodies light and makes flying easy." There is even a "real size" drawing of a barn owl pellet. The art work is enchanting and is no surprise this is a nominee for a Vermont Red Clover Award for children in Kindergarten through the fourth grade.

I have a 2-year-old boy and he loves this book. The illustrations are simple and not over-busy. The story is a wee bit complicated for a child Eddie's age, so I make significant alterations to the text (what does "tussocky" mean??) and I omit entirely the "little words" that are on the illustrated pages. The illustrated pages contain lots of interesting info about owls and nesting boxes and stuff, but it's not interesting to a 2 yr old so I skip it. I also truncate the text that's part of the storytelling narrative. Among other things, my 2 yr old can't understand about the owl's digestive pellets.

It is a really lovely book and can be altered however you need it to be for your child. Two thumbs up.